ESTONIA DISBANDS A DISCREDITED MILITARY UNIT.

The Estonian government has decided to dissolve the Special Operations Group (SOG), a small and secretive security unit of the armed forces. The decision follows an armed robbery and shootout in which three SOG soldiers were involved. Two earlier holdups are now also blamed on SOG members (see the Monitor, May 20). Several SOG officers have since been found to be unlawfully involved with private companies providing security services.

The government endorsed the recommendations of a special investigative panel which found that the SOG’s official status and mission were vague, the lines of command were blurred, and civilian control of the unit had broken down. The panel concluded that the existence of the unit as such was unnecessary. The government agreed and instructed the commander of the armed forces, Lieutenant-General Johannes Kert, to select out the SOG members fit to serve and reassign them to other military units (BNS, June 1-2).

RUSSIA’S FSB BLINKS.